# What’s your favorite slang term from any time in history?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [July 24, 2026, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888 "2026-07-24T00:35:52Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/1 "2026-07-24T00:35:52Z")
When my mom died a few years ago, I got a couple of boxes full of pictures and old mementos. Among the random things she had kept was an old junior high school yearbook, from the mid 60s, in Southern California.
Reading the messages of the fellow students, one word stood out for its frequency: _bitchin_
“Have a bitchin summer” was a common refrain. My mom was also a “bitchin girl”.
Thinking back on that the other day got me thinking: what is your favorite slang term, from any time in history?
Slang is pervasive throughout history, so there’s tons of options. Most probably relate to sex. Something from Shakespeare? The old west? Maybe you heard a funny one from the kids the other day (modern times are a part of history!) Or perhaps something from your childhood.
Me? I can’t beat _bitchin_ for cool. Surfer culture, Southern California, circa 1960s.
‘Cause my mom was a _bitchin_ girl destined for a _bitchin_ summer.
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### Author:  [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/2 "2026-07-24T01:15:57Z")
_[Swinging London](https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swinging_London)_
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/3 "2026-07-24T01:17:32Z")
> [@Moriarty](#):
>
> “Have a bitchin summer” was a common refrain
Same in my late ‘70s yearbooks. That slang had legs, at least, in Southern California.
I’ve adopted a lot of 1960s slang for personal use. The word “dig” (for “enjoy” not “understand”) is in daily use. I also like the phrase, “Zero cool, chicky baby!”. I think that one is from Roddy McDowell in _The Cool Ones_.
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### Author:  [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/4 "2026-07-24T02:45:28Z")
The Good Old Days
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### Author:  [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/5 "2026-07-24T04:26:42Z")
The good stuff is pretty timeless
[https://w3.ric.edu/faculty/rpotter/temp/hepcat\_full.pdf](https://w3.ric.edu/faculty/rpotter/temp/hepcat_full.pdf)
> **[Vocabulum; or, The rogue's lexicon. Comp. from the most authentic sources :...](https://archive.org/details/cu31924073798740/mode/2up)**
>
> The metadata below describe the original scanning. Follow the All Files: HTTP link in the View the book box to the left to find XML files that contain more...
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### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/6 "2026-07-24T04:35:50Z")
Can anything beat “cool?”
“Groovy” should be up there too. A bit old today but still holds up.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/7 "2026-07-24T04:44:53Z")
“Groovy” sure didn’t last very long as a slang term. Anyone know why?
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/8 "2026-07-24T05:18:36Z")
Cassette tapes?
Or this…
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t28A6cnPxUM)
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### Author:  [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/9 "2026-07-24T06:08:32Z")
Does fictional future slang count? I like “shiny”.
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### Author:  [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/10 "2026-07-24T06:09:10Z")
I like “groovy” for the times it represents but neither I, nor any other hippie I knew, ever said it. I think “man” (as in “ah, man, that sucks” or “hey, man, let’s go”) is the one slang term that’s lasted my whole life. I kind of like “wicked” but it’s another I’ve never actually used.
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### Author:  [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/11 "2026-07-24T08:59:45Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#):
>
> “Groovy” sure didn’t last very long as a slang term. Anyone know why?
It got [returned for regrooving](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBJB1VtMkNU).
Along with “far out!” and “outasight!”
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### Author:  [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/12 "2026-07-24T10:03:33Z")
I’ve always liked “bad.” It drove my parents crazy back in the 70s, and earned a number of lectures about how words have meaning.
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### Author:  [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/13 "2026-07-24T12:01:02Z")
Criminy!
I use it all the time.
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### Author:  [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/14 "2026-07-24T13:13:01Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#):
>
> I also like the phrase, “Zero cool, chicky baby!”. I think that one is from Roddy McDowell in _The Cool Ones_
From years ago on the Dope I’ve picked up the phrase
“Don’t harsh my squee” (i.e. Don’t ruin my good mood)
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### Author:  [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/15 "2026-07-24T13:13:40Z")
Cone
From the Saturday Night live Coneheads. It means a smart person who excels at academics. Similar to nerd but without it implication of social ineptitude.
“She’s a total cone, she gets straight A’s without even having to study”
It was ubiquitous when I grew up in Los Alamos NM in the 80’s, but highly local, which I realized when I went off to college and got blank stares when I used it.
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### Author:  [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/16 "2026-07-24T13:16:22Z")
“Cool” should be the first entry into the Slang Hall of Fame.
But for me, nothing beats “gadzooks!”
mmm
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### Author:  [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/17 "2026-07-24T13:17:55Z")
> [@markn\_1](#):
>
> Does fictional future slang count? I like “shiny”.
I don’t see why not.
I like to interject “Barnacles!” when something goes wrong. SpongeBob SquarePants gave me that one.
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### Author:  [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/18 "2026-07-24T13:26:14Z")
“Bellytimber,” from the 1600’s, for yummy food.
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### Author:  [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/19 "2026-07-24T13:41:02Z")
I have a fondness for “How’s tricks?” or “What’s tricks?” as slang for “How’s it going/What’s up?” but can’t really use it without having to explain to a bunch of squares what I meant.
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### Author:  [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2026, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-s-your-favorite-slang-term-from-any-time-in-history/1031888/20 "2026-07-24T13:46:47Z")
I have a fondness for the expression “it’s the bees knees” to say something is extra good.
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